


Twenty-Four Ain't So Bad Anymore

by jeien



Category: Ookiku Furikabutte | Big Windup!
Genre: Drinking, Future Fic, M/M, Neighbors, Oofuri Secret Santa 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 04:12:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5524988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeien/pseuds/jeien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Izumi forgets his own birthday. But life gives him a present that makes up for the boring adulthood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Twenty-Four Ain't So Bad Anymore

**Author's Note:**

> For Oofuri Secret Santa 2015! Merry Christmas to Tumblr user dollarinthedouchebagjar! I hope you like it!

“Oh, _shit_.”

Izumi closed the front door upon seeing the puff of white that left his lips. _Forgot it would be about that time_ , he thought as he reached towards the coat rack for his jacket. He grabbed it and walked back outside, not even bothering to put it on, until he locked the door and bolted towards the station to catch his train.

The office was a whirlwind of papers, coffee, and frantic phone calls as the monthly deadline approached. Izumi weaved past all the editors with the grace of an experienced employee and waltzed his way to his cubicle, where he could finally plant his feet firmly onto the floor. He caught sight of his desk as he took off his jacket: a rainbow of sticky notes lined the top of his computer monitor. Izumi figured they were some last minute memos from his coworkers about the afternoon meeting or a change in the magazine layout. Instead, they were very enthusiastic birthday greetings—and even an invitation to go drinking later to celebrate the occasion.

He blinked and looked at his phone’s lock screen. November 29. _Well, damn_ , he thought, _Now I really know I’m an adult_.

It had almost been a decade since he moved to Tokyo for university. The entire Nishiura baseball team had gone all over the country after they graduated high school: a couple got scouted into the professional baseball league (Tajima and Mihashi), some went to university to study sports medicine (Abe), others went to university majoring in other things (Hanai took up Business Management, Sakaeguchi studied Sociology, and Nishihiro went into Biochemical Engineering), and the rest (Oki, Suyama, Hamada, and Mizutani) became part of the work force right after. They all tried to keep in touch with one another, but with the workload of school and the late overtime hours of a salaryman, they all lost touch. Izumi can’t even remember the last time he had heard from any of them.

 _That’s just growing up, I guess_ , he quietly muses before booting up his computer to finish the layout and send it off to his boss for a final approval. By the time the work day was over, Izumi was as much of a zombie as the other editors.

“Izumi,” one of the typographers groaned out, “you still wanna get a drink?”

He trudged towards the door and lazily waved a hand. “Nah, we’re all bushed. I’ll take a rain check for another time.”

Izumi had to wonder while he boarded his train home what he should pick up for his birthday dinner—maybe some take-out and a slice of cake. It was almost laughable how bland his life became despite his cushy layout editing job with a monthly sports magazine. _It’d be better if I had some friends_ , he thought, _but blunt ol’ me just doesn’t fly with some people_. As childish as it was, he yearned for his days at Nishiura. He wanted his team.

He wound up getting some take-out and a slice of chocolate cake on his way back from the station. _Damn_ , Izumi realized, _I forgot to get some matches to light the candle_. He was about to just forget about it when he noticed, as he approached his apartment complex, that the lights in the unit next to his was lit. _Oh yeah_ , he thought, _the landlady said someone was moving in today_. Maybe he’d go and greet them—and even ask for some matches or a lighter.

Izumi climbed the stairs and hesitantly knocked on the door. “Hey, uh. It’s your neighbor next door and I just wanted to say hi.”

The door opened.

“Izumi?” The man—wait a second: light red hair, greenish eyes, a pair of headphones, and a cigarette currently in his mouth—said, almost amazed. Izumi could never forget that face, regardless of how many years pass. “Holy shit, it _is_ you!”

“Holy shit is right,” Izumi exclaimed, unable to help the smile forming on his face. “I was just thinking about our high school team at work and then suddenly this former crappy left-fielder winds up as my next door neighbor. What are the chances?”

“Seriously,” Mizutani laughed, motioning Izumi to come inside. “If you don’t mind the mess, stay a while. It’s been, like, nine years.”

“Sorry for the intrusion,” Izumi said. He toes off his shoes at the entrance and follows Mizutani to a small table in the middle of the main room. Boxes were still littered all over the place, but he sees that a television and a few chairs were set up. “Do you have food? I can run by the convenience store and get some more so we can have dinner together.”

“Nah, I bought mine already,” Mizutani replied, jerking his head towards a plastic bag atop a large box. _Must be his table for now_ , Izumi guesses as he sits himself down on the floor by the makeshift table. “Want anything to drink? Got some water, some pocari—the works.”

“I’ll take water, thanks.”

Mizutani pulled out two bottles from the fridge and made his way to where Izumi sat. “Here you go. What’cha got for dinner?”

“Take out. Slice of cake. Nothing special.”

“Slice of cake?” Izumi could see the cogs in Mizutani’s brain whirring to try and piece things together as he took out the cake slice alongside his take-out dinner. Things seemed to click shortly afterwards. “Holy _shit_ , it’s your birthday today!”

“Apparently,” Izumi said. “I forgot too, you know? My coworkers, of all people, had to remind me.”

“Well, screw water then! We’re drinking beer tonight!”

There was something in Mizutani’s wide grin that spread a warm feeling throughout Izumi’s body. Even though it might be a bad idea to spend the entire night just drinking—which is exactly what they were going to do, judging by all the beer cans Mizutani was somehow bringing out of his fridge—Izumi just can’t help but go along with it. Maybe it was the nostalgia of seeing someone from Nishiura. Maybe it was just that old connection with his close teammate sparking up again. Regardless of what it was, it made Izumi happy.

The two of them lit up the candle Izumi bought for his cake slice and celebrated his birthday by reminiscing on their high school days. Izumi didn’t even realize he hadn’t gone home for the night until he woke up with a bad headache amidst a disarray of unpacked boxes and Mizutani cuddled up right next to him.

Izumi was surprisingly unperturbed by the situation. He left his arm wrapped loosely around Mizutani’s shoulders and quietly tried to recollect the night’s events. _Our clothes are still on, so we couldn’t have gotten far if anything happened_ , he deduced. The last thing he remembered was that they had drunk a little too much and they were exchanging some stories and…

_You know, Izumi… The one thing I regretted was… not telling you how I felt before we graduated…_

He blinked and looked down at Mizutani’s drooling face. Izumi was a straightforward man and it was usually a trait that didn’t go over well with his coworkers. But Mizutani had a good three years to really get to know him. Mizutani knows how he works—and he knows better than to try and pull a fast one on him.

“Hey, wake up,” Izumi said, lightly shaking Mizutani by the shoulder. There was a soft groan, but Mizutani only threw a leg around Izumi’s waist. He sighed and went to pinch Mizutani’s nose. “Come on, Rice, up and at ‘em!”

“Ghh!” Mizutani suddenly jolted awake, but his body only pressed closer towards Izumi’s. Somehow, he flailed right on top of him and didn’t even notice. “Agh… Really, dude? And I have such a bad hangover, too…”

“The hangover can wait,” Izumi told him, sitting up a little. He propped himself against his elbows and let Mizutani’s mind catch up with the fact that he’s straddling Izumi. “Right now, we’re gonna talk feelings and I won’t let you go to work until we get this sorted out.”

“Oh hell,” Mizutani groans. “Whatever I said last night, just forget—”

“I’m not just gonna forget about it. This is important.” Izumi had always worked hard to try and become actual friends with his teammates. He had to admit that it had hurt when he saw some of them grow closer than others, like Tajima and Mihashi, even though they were all in the same class during their first and second years. He wanted a connection that wouldn’t be impeded by his bluntness or his sarcasm—because those traits were just part of who he is and he’s not going to change for anyone. He didn’t want to be left behind—yet that was what happened when they all graduated. He left and everyone moved on without him.

But now…

“So tell me straight, Mizutani,” Izumi said. “Tell me what you wanted to say before we graduated.”

Mizutani was grimacing at the situation, but eventually sighed deeply. “You wanna know so bad? Fine. I’ll tell you. What I wanted to tell you was… Uh…”

Izumi waited.

“Do… Do you…”

“Do I…?”

“Do you want to go on a date with me?!” Mizutani blurted out, almost biting his own tongue. The force of his words agitated his hangover and he winced at the painful throb that came.

“What,” Izumi said, mildly disappointed, “just a date?”

“Don’t give me that look,” Mizutani said, burying his face into Izumi’s shoulder. “I didn’t think that far. I was trying to prepare myself for when you rejected the date idea. And if you didn’t, then maybe I’d slowly work towards actually asking you out.”

“Even though we’d be graduating?”

Mizutani grew pink in the cheeks. “Well, I mean, I would’ve worked something out. I was planning on following you out to the city anyway.”

Izumi smiled. “You mean like what you ended up doing?”

“For the record, I didn’t even know this was where you lived so…”

He leaned up and planted a quick kiss onto Mizutani’s lips. “I’m down for a date. When do you get off shift?”

“Wait, you want to go on one _tonight_? What about the weekend? At least give me some time to make it nice!”

Izumi rolled his eyes. “I don’t really need all that. We’re adults, after all. Just some dinner is good. Hell, I’d even be alright with drinking here again.”

“Let’s hold off on the drinking for a while,” Mizutani said, playfully laying all his weight onto him. Izumi fell back against the floor and groaned as a wave of dizziness washed over him. “I don’t wanna spill any more secrets and have to deal with your inquisitions alongside a hangover.”

“I have a bad hangover too and you don’t see me complaining,” Izumi said, pursing his lips. “Which, by the way, is pretty bad hospitality on your part.”

“We haven’t even gone on our first date and you’re already nagging me? Come on, Izumi…”

“Take it or leave it, buddy. You’ve had a few years to know what you’re getting yourself into.” But Izumi did press another kiss to Mizutani’s temple as a kind of consolation. “I expect my Christmas gift to be you calling me by my first name.”

“You don’t need to wait that long,” Mizutani said. “How’s nine tonight sound?”

“Sounds good.”

“Cool.”

They both got up from the floor and cleaned up the mess from yesterday. Izumi walked back to his own apartment next door and got dressed for work. Right as he was about to leave, he heard Mizutani calling from his door, with a huge smile.

“Have a good day at work, Kosuke!”

Izumi smiled and waved back with a _You too, Fumiki_ before rushing off to catch the train. He supposed, now that Mizutani’s next door, that adulthood won’t be so bad anymore.


End file.
